The clip featured Dean confronting Sam for the first time since he was turned into a demon.

“Guys like me, we’re the natural order,” Dean declares before telling Sam that he knows what he really is and what he did while looking for him. So who is the real monster, he asks. Demon Dean then attacks his bro with an axe, who puts a knife to Dean’s throat.

Clearly, the the elder Winchester’s new way of life will “have an enormous effect on the season and on the brothers,” executive producer Jeremy Carver previewed. “These boys really dig into, Sam in particular, how to rescue his brother from being a demon.”

Meanwhile, Dean will “struggle with what it means to be a demon. It’s very, very exciting. We’re really excited most of all with the idea of these brothers questioning who the real monster is. It’s exciting and very moving and emotional.”

The new plot twist is also a welcome change for the actors. Ackles noted that on set last Tuesday, Demon Dean killed a guy; on Wednesday he beat a guy; and on Thursday he beat one guy and killed another, which was “awesome” because he got to get all his frustrations out.

Co-star Jared Padalecki, who’s gotten to play many incarnations of Sam, added: “It’s a real joy to get to see Ackles flex those muscles.”

And who was easier to direct: Dean or Demon Dean? “In this particular episode, Demon Dean, because he was tied up most of the time,” Ackles replied to hoots and hollers.

BREAK OUT A TUNE | You may have heard the 200th episode is “musical-ish,” as Carver calls it, but Ackles also hinted that the season opener will feature Demon Dean doing karaoke.

ANGELIC WOES | Although Castiel’s grace is fading and he’s getting weaker, he’s still putting others first. “Castiel is concerned about trying to help Dean get patched up again more so than he is about getting his own powers back,” Misha Collins shared.

DEMONS AND DRIVERS | As Ackles previously told TVLine, Demon Dean will be a lot for Crowley to handle. “[We’ll] see whether Crowley has any control,” Mark Sheppard teased. Added Ackles: “At some point, Crowley’s going to be like, ‘This is a bad, bad idea.’” But let’s talk about the real relationship you want to know about: Demon Dean has the Impala, but doesn’t care about it as much as regular Dean, Ackles revealed.

GIRL POWER | “You can expect a very healthy dose of new and returning, very strong, very powerful female characters this season,” Carver promised.

soooo excited!!!! please stop the spoilers until a day before the show (or i shld stop coming to tvline til then- of wc lets face it thats neva gonna happen im an addict! #sobsob) now im sooo impatient for the season to start! herez hoping i wont spontaneously combast before then with all this pent up excitement ;)

I’m sure she has her fans, but I’ve seen quite a few people who agree with me as well. I can’t stand how the character is written. They keep pushing this idea that she is like a sister to the Winchesters, but she never earned that status (like Jo and Ellen or Bobby eventually felt like family). She is too goofy, and her character is more of a “Eureka” character than a “Supernatural” character. Supernatural characters are usually complex. She’s a cartoon. It’s like someone poked a hole in the internet and a fangirl somehow ended up on the show, playing out her LARPing fantasies. He episodes feel more like fanfic than the episodes that have Becky in them!

I like Charlie’s character. So I’d love to see her again — as long as they don’t kill her that is. Wouldn’t mind seeing Dorothy back kicking ass also. I really want Gabriel back. Let him go head to head with Crowley. Now that would be fun!

As for the Demon Dean, Sam arc. Not looking forward to it at all. I’ll probably record the eps and then maybe watch them after Dean is human again…. maybe. Depends on how it plays out. But quite frankly from what it sounds like it’s just going to end up being another reason for Dean to feel guilty and bad about himself — even more so — and there is absolutely nothing new about that, see previous 6 years or so. So 3, 4 eps of Demon Dean and the next 19 to 20 of ‘oh how awful I am’ Dean. The guy deserves a break and we deserve a break from guilty low self esteem Dean.